March is over and I’m just getting back into the swing of things. I’ve been gone a long time, so I wouldn’t be surprised if no one remembers me. But I’m back now, and I’m hoping to be a better blogger and reviewer.

I hope to get through these books in April (not many because I want to take it slow, see how it goes):

Candy Seaborne knows she’s badass. She takes after her father, an assassin and possibly a spy, although he won’t admit to either. She idolizes him. Her dream is to follow in his footsteps. But first, she has to finish high school.

Biding her time, waiting for real life to begin, Candy craves drama and isn’t above manufacturing some. If you’re a classmate who wronged her or a boyfriend who cheated, watch your back. She’s no pushover, and revenge may be her favorite pastime.

Jonah Bryson is the senior class heartthrob who breaks all the stereotypes. He’s a jock, but he isn’t the typical player. He’s moody and antisocial. No girl has gotten anywhere with him since his last girlfriend broke his heart.

Candy sees Jonah as a challenge and the perfect distraction. But she may be in over her head because unlike everyone else, Jonah isn’t buying her tough act. He sees the lost, lonely girl inside. He sees too much. When he looks at her that way, she wants to let her guard down and be vulnerable. But that’s the last thing she should do because her father’s world is spilling over into hers, and life is about to get real much sooner than Candy expected.

And Now For My Review!

Format: Ebook

Rating: 4.5/5

I enjoyed Like Candy a lot more than I thought I would.

Why?

Because It was so incredibly easy to fall into the story! When I started reading it, I only meant to read a chapter or two to get a feel for what I’d be reading the next day (because it was late and I needed sleep but I wanted to know anyway) and instead I’ve suddenly read six chapters and I don’t want to stop! (I did anyway, but I definitely didn’t want to.) And then I picked it back up the next morning and proceeded to finish it. Just like that. It’s because the writing flowed well the story hooked me easily.

It was full of mystery, suspense, twists, and the likes. The mystery was who kept breaking into their home (even though they had an alarm set up and a locks), who wanted to hurt Candy and her father (because her father’s job is… sketchy), and who wanted to hurt Candy to get to her father (because of his job)? And then it turned to who is Jonah really? Because he’s obviously a pretty secretive person when it comes to himself, so why wouldn’t he be hiding something? Which brought the thought, who else is lying or hiding something? The suspense was trying to figure out who the person wanting to harm them was, what they would do next, and why exactly did they want to hurt Candy’s father. The twist was at the very end. Jonah’s secret, what he hid, wasn’t so shocking; the fact that people wanted to hurt her father also wasn’t shocking (because really, he kills people for a living. Who wouldn’t want to get revenge on him for killing their father or brother?); and the man’s identity (the one who wanted to hurt them) wasn’t so shocking either (because we hear of him, but are never introduced to him which inspires the question: why? And he’s good with computers, so who else could it be?). But it’s the fact that while her father was being chocked, she decided to do something her father never wanted her to do. And I won’t say what because it’s pretty much a spoiler, but her father was both disappointed and defeated in that moment.

Like Candy also has a connectable female lead. Candy. And she is strong in the sense that while with her father she may at times back down, she always has a plan to try and get him to see her point of view, and other times she fights him until she no longer can. With others, the ones who betray her, back stab her, purposely try to hurt her, or just want to mess with her, she never lets them get the better of her without getting back at them. She always gets her revenge. She’s insecure in a way where at times she really does wonder if anyone can really love her. When she’s having a bad day or just feels like crap, she wears revealing clothes because at least no one will think she’s as miserable as she is if she looks good. Also, she’ll get attention, even if it isn’t the good kind. She’s kind because she feels bad for the kind boys who try to get with Parker or Lea and end up dismissed or hurt, she cares about her father even when he’s being nothing but cold and distanced from her, always worried about whether or not he’s in trouble, and she cares deeply about Theo and worries about him because of his chemo withering him away. She’s thoughtful in a way that while at times she may not always see it at first from other’s eyes, by the end she sees what they mean and puts herself in their shoes. She always ends up understanding or seeing why they might think or feel in that way. She’s also very eager for acceptance. She wants to please her father, to have him love her in an affectionate way although she knows he’s not like that. It’s rare to get a hug from him, and she feels alone because of that. If she is having a bad and just needs a hug, she can’t count on her father to comfort her. In fact, at times he tells her she’s being unreasonable or childish. She’s mischievous too, though, always quick to think up a plan for revenge. Her pranks are ones she thinks of quickly and can still pull off perfectly. She’s that determined not to let others get away with doing wrong by her.

In this book, there’s a romance all girls yearn for. We all want that guy in our life who looks at us like we’re his world, the guy who’ll research places all night long just to find the perfect place to take us, the kind of guy who is a gentleman but also has a devious side to keep us on our toes, a guy who is nervous but confident, thoughtful, and always seems to know our thoughts and what’s best for us. We want the kind of guy we can connect with on a deeper level who will love us for who we are, even if we try to hide ourselves. And that’s what Jonah and Candy are, what they have. They get each other on a lever beyond one I can comprehend, and they just work. And while I hate that he lied to her and was at times pretty rude, I don’t want to see them apart. That’s how well the author wrote them; the author made us love them, rendering it almost completely impossible to hate them or think, I hope they ruin each other. I love it.

The only things about this book I don’t like? The cliff hanger (obviously, because this book isn’t even published yet(or, it wasn’t when I read the book and wrote this review), so now I have to wait longer for the next!), and the utter importance for her to follow in her father’s footsteps. I get that she wants his love and acceptance, but to eagerly want to kill people? Even if you think they’re bad guys? Candy has a heart, a big, good heart. But her need to be like her father might ruin her. I don’t think she can kill someone in cold blood and then not regret it or relive it ever other moment after. And I don’t want her to have to.

Overall, I really love Like Candy and so I recommend this to everyone. But mainly lovers of mystery and romance.

AUTHOR BIO:

Debra Doxer was born in Boston, and other than a few lost years in the California sunshine, she has always resided in the Boston area. She writes fiction, technical software documents, illegible scribbles on sticky notes, and texts that get mangled by AutoCorrect. She writes for a living, and she writes for fun. When her daughter asks when she’ll run out of words, her response always is, “When I run out of time.”